The Washington Post - 14.11.2019

BY KAREEM COPELAND

KLMNO

SPORTS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

BASEBALL

Jacob deGrom, Justin

Verlander capture NL, AL

Cy Young awards. D3

PRO BASKETBALL

Paul George is returning

from injury, turning up the

pressure on Clippers. D6

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Maryland overcomes a 19-

point deficit in fourth

quarter to beat JMU. D7

Prepare

yourselves,

pitching staffs of

the future, not

just for the

Houston Astros

but for everyone.

It’s possible,

maybe even

probable, that the Astros used

technology to steal signs illegally

en route to the 2017 World Series

title. Given the result there, they

probably didn’t stop in the two

years between then and the 2019

postseason, when they again

won the pennant, when they

faced the Washington Nationals

for the championship.

The Nationals, though, were

ready. If they were going to win

their first World Series, they

were going to do it with

pitching. And their pitchers had

to be prepared — for everything.

“It’s the worst feeling in the

world stepping on that mound

and having an idea that that

hitter knows what’s coming,”

said Paul Menhart, the

Nationals’ pitching coach. “It’s

one of the most unnerving

feelings. You feel helpless. You

just get ticked off to the point

where you lose total focus and

confidence.

“So we had to make sure our

pitchers didn’t think about it.

We had to eliminate the

possibility.”

This is news now, in the

middle of November, because

Tuesday the Athletic published

an explosive report that alleged,

in terrific detail, how the Astros

used a camera in center field to

read what pitch a catcher was

SEE SVRLUGA ON D3

If Astros did

cheat to steal

signs in Series,

Nats had plan

Barry

Svrluga

“The fear of not reaching the potential that I know

that I can,” said Haskins, who was drafted 15th in

April’s draft, “and that’s something that motivates

me every day in the weight room, in meetings and on

the field. Going into every game I get the opportunity

to put my helmet on, and that’s just something I take

pride in, as far as knowing where I want to be,

knowing where I can be, knowing where I’m at right

now and what needs to be done to get there.”

In announcing his decision, Callahan said that the

team, which sits in last place in the NFC East with a

1-8 record, needed to get Haskins some experience.

The rookie has been in limbo for much of the season,

with calls from fans to play him after the team

stumbled early and former coach Jay Gruden and

then Callahan insisting he wasn’t ready. There were

questions about how well Haskins had learned the

playbook and whether he eventually would be able to

SEE REDSKINS ON D4

D

wayne Haskins projected the air of a changed

man as he stood on the dais for the first time as

the Washington Redskins’ full-time starting

quarterback Wednesday. The rookie confidently took

questions, with a diamond cross dangling from his

left ear as he gave thoughtful answers and even

smiled.

It was a noticeable change from previous sessions,

during which Haskins had spoken quietly and

seemed sullen and generally uneasy. But the rookie’s

demeanor wasn’t the only thing different since

interim coach Bill Callahan named Haskins the

starting quarterback for the rest of the season

Monday. Hours after the announcement, the team

sent out an email blast to fans with links to buy

Haskins jerseys and tickets to his first home start

against the New York Jets this weekend.

While Haskins is clearly more comfortable, he said

a fear of failure continues to drive him.

The new leading man

After spending much

of his rookie season

in limbo, Haskins shows

confidence as starter

JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST

Redskins quarterback Dwayne

Haskins will make his first

home start of the season

Sunday against the Jets.

Oregon team playing much

closer to home. The Tigers, now

a recruiting phenomenon under

Coach Penny Hardaway, started

five freshmen and flashed their

potential. Despite early foul

trouble, the 7-foot-1 Wiseman

played well at the end to salvage

his performance, finishing with

14 points and 12 rebounds on a

quiet night. Still, even with a

who’s who of NBA talent

evaluators in the arena, there

was not much of a basketball

vibe at Moda Center. It felt more

like a recess. On Monday,

Wiseman and the NCAA are

back in court, where a judge

must decide whether to lift or

SEE BREWER ON D7

evening. Refusing to obey NCAA

protocol with the eligibility of

freshman center James Wiseman

in question, Memphis played its

star for a second straight game

without clearance, lifting its

middle finger in a manner that

few programs ever have. It made

for a cumbersome atmosphere as

Memphis and Oregon, both top-

15 teams, competed in a

nonconference showdown

intended to make you feel all

euphoric about the return of

college basketball.

The actual game, billed as the

main event of the Phil Knight

Invitational, was solid for an

early-season affair, and it ended

with an 82-74 victory for an older

portland, ore.
— Memphis will
see you in hell,
NCAA, if it comes
to that. The city
and its beloved
men’s college
basketball
program are
united in this audacity. Or is it
recklessness? Or martyrdom?
Whatever this stand is — and no
matter the consequences of
probable failure — the Tigers
would rather defy than
capitulate to an organization it
no longer respects.
The thorniest story in college
athletics slid awkwardly into the
national spotlight Tuesday

Smoke and mirrors for NCAA, Memphis

Jerry

Brewer

Canadiens at Capitals

Tomorrow, 7 p.m., NBCSW

KAREN PULFER FOCHT/ASSOCIATED PRESS

With freshman center James Wiseman, Coach Penny Hardaway’s

Memphis Tigers could become one of the top teams in the nation.

Wizards at Timberwolves

Tomorrow, 8 p.m., NBCSW Plus

Jets at Redskins

Sunday, 1 p.m., WTTG-5

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

boston — There were moments

when Washington Wizards guard

Isaiah Thomas clearly relished

his return to TD Garden. He

hugged Boston Celtics staffers,

caught up with old friends and,

late in the first half, smacked

Marcus Smart on the rear after

draining a three-pointer over his

former teammate.

But afterward, as Thomas sat

icing his knees following the 140-

133 loss to the Celtics, the feel-

good homecoming no longer mat-

tered.

“I just want to win,” Thomas

said. “We didn’t get the job done,

and that was the most important

thing.”

Instead of reliving the high-

lights of his 18-point perfor-

mance, the most points he has

scored since March 5, 2018,

Thomas had to answer for his

team’s defense. The Wizards (2-7)

again folded on that end of the

court, while Boston thrived be-

yond the three-point arc.

Washington has surrendered

at least 120 points in five of its

nine games. In each of those five

SEE WIZARDS ON D6

Ugly defense

ruins return

of Thomas

to Boston

CELTICS 140,

WIZARDS 133

Beal’s 44-point outburst

isn’t enough on the road

BY SAMANTHA PELL

philadelphia — Washington
Capitals goaltender Braden Holt-
by was the best player on the ice
in his team’s 2-1 shootout win
against the Philadelphia Flyers
on Wednesday night at Wells
Fargo Center. From a couple of
point-blank attempts, to a reach-

ing left leg save, he turned away

shot after shot until his team

jumped over the boards in cele-

bration.

On a night the Capitals let a

slim 1-0 lead disappear late, the

power play struggled and their

two top lines couldn’t produce in

regulation, Holtby willed Wash-

ington out of Philadelphia with

two points against a division foe.

After neither team could break

through in overtime — with

captain Alex Ovechkin, center

Nicklas Backstrom and defense-

man Dmitry Orlov all pulling a

three-minute shift in the extra

period — Washington won the

shootout behind strikes from T.J.

Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Oshie improved to 44 for 83

(53 percent) in the shootout for

his career. The shooting percent-

age is the highest for any player

in NHL history with at least

60 attempts.

“Every time your goalie only

lets in one, you should get at least

a point out of that,” center Lars

Eller said. “Gives us a very good

chance to win, and that is all we

can ask, and he certainly did his

part tonight.”

Behind Holtby and another

strong game from their bottom

six, the Capitals (14-2-4) extend-

ed their point streak to 13 games

(11-0-2). Washington leads the

league in wins (14) and points

(32) a quarter of the way through

the season.

The 30-year-old goaltender,

probably heading into free agen-

cy after this season, made 30

saves — 10 in the third, four in

overtime and the biggest save on

Sean Couturier during the shoot-

out to seal the win. Since he

allowed three goals on Colora-

do’s first three shots Oct. 14,

Holtby has an 8-0-1 record.

“It was a fun one to be a part

of,” Holtby said. “You know, we

got big shootout goals and a big

shift in overtime that took a lot of

guts to get through. Just a fun

SEE CAPITALS ON D5

Caps keep collecting points with shootout win

CAPITALS 2,

FLYERS 1 (SO)